Support Class (XCOM: Enemy Unknown)
The Support Class is a soldier class in XCOM: Enemy Unknown. The primary role of the Support Class is to keep the team alive and/or provide covering fire. They can learn to use Medikits more efficiently, cover the battlefield with smoke grenades and run further than other classes. Their covering fire and suppression abilities can help control enemy movement on the battlefield. XCOM Database Tactical Description The Support Class is a mid line specialist that excels in sustaining squad members in fighting condition with sustained fire from cover. Weapons The Support Class can be equipped with Rifles and Pistols. Assault Rifles Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Unknown Pistols Source: Tactical Info, XCOM: Enemy Unknown Abilities When a soldier is promoted, certain ranks allow the player to choose between one of two abilities. Skill Comparisons Support Class skill tree is bipolar: it can be built as a medic specialist (left side) or as an Overwatch specialist (right side). Sprinter vs. Covering Fire Sprinter is preferred for most cases: no critical hits on reactive fire combined with the Support's inferior weaponry makes reaction fire and suppression of mediocre value. Sprinter is tied (depending on presence of enemies on Overwatch) with a Lightning Reflexes in terms of utility; the ability in this regard is outright unparalleled, if interaction is time critical (e.g. a soldier must interact with it within the current turn). * Sprinter allows 3 additional movement tiles. **Sprinter synergies well with the use of Arc Throwers and Medikits; **Sprinter is effective for strong positioning, flanking maneuvers, and supporting squad members. It is an essential promotion for objective(s) reliant on rapid movement: ***Capture live aliens ***Stabilize fallen allies ***Retrieve Meld canisters ***Defuse alien bombs ***Scout for Squadsight Snipers **Sprinter stacks with the Skeleton Suit and Armor, providing unmatched mobility. * Covering Fire allows reaction shots to trigger on enemy attacks. **Covering Fire synergies with with Rifle Suppression and Sentinel; it allows reactive fire against a suppressed target who fires and increasing the likelihood of two reactive shots per Overwatch exposed/flanked targets in an engagement. **As Sentinel is the only way for a Support soldier to make two attacks per turn (thus roughly doubling a Support's damage output, the reaction fire Aim penalty notwithstanding), but is reliant on getting two reaction fire chances per enemy turn, a Sentinel + Covering Fire skill build is the best way to maximize a Support's damage output. However take note that the other XCOM soldier classes all have more reliable and effective methods of making two or more attacks per turn, and arguably, a Support should be optimized toward maximizing their unique abilities instead. **Covering Fire frequently wastes shots and expends ammo at enemies in cover as Overwatch triggers cannot be controlled; it is generally safer to fall back and entering Overwatch as it is more likely to force an enemy to move up and be fired upon reactively while they are exposed and before they can fire. ***Covering Fire is improved in XCOM: Enemy Within by allowing Supports on Overwatch to shoot their targets before they attack. This includes the single-target Overwatch granted against the target of Rifle Suppression. Thus, this allows Rifle Suppression to reduce the enemy's Aim, and if it still decides to shoot, it will trigger the Support's reaction fire, and if this kills the target, this prevents the enemy's shot. ***However, if the Support has a good chance of killing the enemy with one more attack, it is usually better to just make a normal attack, instead of initiating Rifle Suppression or Overwatch (this is because a normal attack has no attached Aim penalty, whereas reaction fire has a penalty). Thus, Covering Fire should be considered as a "bonus" reaction fire opportunity in a situation where the player is certain that they need to Rifle Suppress an enemy, rather than attempting to deliberately set up a situation where reaction fire can occur. Field Medic vs. Smoke and Mirrors Field Medic is preferred for most cases: given the strength of Squadsight Snipers at ending standoffs quickly, the tendency of Aliens and EXALT operatives to use grenades, rockets, psionic attacks and/or poison in the mid game, and the lethality of psionics late game, the niche for Smoke and Mirrors is quite small. * Field Medic allows Medikits to be used three times per mission. **Field Medic is the best overall upgrades for the Support class: three uses of the Medikit allows a liberal healing to keep the squad topped off between firefights, or three stabilizations, which can avert disaster if soldiers fall. It synergizes very well with a squad containing front-line troopers with the Secondary Heart gene mod, as it guarantees that these soldiers can be lose all their HP once per mission and without taking any permanent penalties whatsoever. **Field Medic's effectiveness is greatly increased through its synergy with the Sprinter and Savior abilities and the completion of the Medikit Foundry upgrade. * Smoke and Mirrors allows Smoke Grenade to be used three times per mission. ** Smoke and Mirrors suits a "movement minimalism" grand strategy, where the squad maintains a carefully placed cohesive formation while engaging long range standoffs against one group of foes at a time. Revive vs. Rifle Suppression Rifle Suppression is preferred for most cases: Revive is a reactive skill that gets critically wounded back into the fight, while Rifle Suppression is a proactive skill that prevents allies from being critically wounded. * Revive Allows Medikits to revive critically wounded soldiers at 33% of max health, instead of just stabilizing them. **Revive has strong synergy with the Officer Training Don't Die On Me, or the Secondary Heart Gene Mod in XCOM: Enemy Within, due to the increased odds of soldiers falling critically wounded instead of being killed. With Secondary Heart, it virtually guarantees that those troopers can lose all their HP once per mission, yet continue fighting with no detriment to performance, thus making the player's squad very resilient to mistakes especially in Iron Man mode. **Revive is a skill that is never used on a good day; on a bad day, it can salvage a mission failure, turning a potential squad wipe into a narrow partial success or even a decisive victory. * Rifle Suppression fires a barrage that pins down a target, granting reaction fire against it and imposing a 30 penalty to Aim. **Rifle Suppression is a frequently useful skill that reduces the effectiveness of a foe's weapon fire against squad members with moderate effectiveness. **Rifle Suppression is great for neutering Sectopods or Mechtoids, who can fire twice per turn; using two Rifle Suppression effects, should cause any shots against targets in cover to always miss. ** Rifle Suppression encourages enemies in choose alternative attacks (as with Smoke Grenades, in the mid to late game, when their Aim is penalized) such as grenades, rockets or psionics, all of which are not reduced by Suppression, nor will they trigger reaction fire; take note of which enemies are suitable for suppression, and which types should simply be shot. Enemies lacking in any effective non-Aim reliant attacks are especially susceptible, as they have no useful alternative offensive actions to take. A special case is the Sectopod, where Cluster Bomb is very damaging, but is not a threat if you are confident that it can be killed within the next turn of shooting. ** Rifle Suppression's role is arguably better achieved by Heavy soldiers, on account of their ability to suppress multiple targets simultaneously, cause damage to those targets when suppressing, and improve the Aim of friendly troopers firing at those targets. Meanwhile, Revive is a potential lifesaver that is exclusive to the Support class. Dense Smoke vs. Combat Drugs Dense Smoke is preferred for most cases: both abilities enhances the core functionality of Smoke Grenades. Both sacrifices a Support's weapon fire in the turn to deploy smoke and forces foes to re-position, use alternative methods of dealing damage, or use abilities that aren't reliant on Aim. Take these into account when deciding when to use Smoke Grenades. * Dense Smoke increasing Smoke Grenade's area of effect to 4 tile radius and Defense bonus to 40. **Dense Smoke's total bonus of 80 defense on allies in full cover is almost impenetrable (even on Impossible difficulty) and is extremely effective when paired with Alloy S.H.I.V.s, MEC Troopers or indestructible cover. **Dense Smoke's increased area of effect aids in squad positioning and allows squad members to minimize the effects of AoE damage. **Dense Smoke triggers the use of a grenade is an undesired outcome, as it both delivers unavoidable damage and destroys cover, leaving soldiers exposed to enemy fire. * Combat Drugs grant Smoke Grenade a +20 Will and +10 critical chance for all units in the cloud. **Combat Drugs makes smoke grenade a "Swiss army knife" of utility options; increased Criticals on two HEAT Ammo shots or an In The Zone spree can reshape the battle. **Combat Drugs' critical chance gain is marginal. **Combat Drugs' Will bonus is ineffective against psionic encounters compared to conventional methods and rarely makes a significant difference, except with carefully planned circumstances (i.e. mass Mind Control attempts using multiple psionic XCOM soldiers to take control of multiple aliens in a single turn). **Combat Drugs grants an undocumented +20 Aim bonus (not listed in the talent's description). This Aim bonus greatly assist relatively inaccurate Heavies at critical moments and supports lower ranking troops in landing shots to gain promotions. 'XCOM: Enemy Within' *The Combat Drug Aim bonus has been removed. Savior vs. Sentinel Savior is preferred in most cases: Reactive shots have an inherent Aim penalty and inability to inflict critical hits. Savior is a reactive skill that grants a reliable increase to the core strength of the class, while Sentinel is a proactive skill that prevents foes from attacking allies. * Savior doubles Medikits' restoration value to 8 health per use. **Savior is a keystone skill for Field Medic, providing four heals for 8 hp (10 hp with the Foundry upgrade). **Savior progressively increases in utility as the player researches advanced armor and equipment that allow troops to survive significant hits and benefit from the substantial healing that this ability provides. **Savior allows a single well-prepared medic to significantly buffer a player's potential ability to recover from bad situations, turning many difficult missions into easy victories. *'Sentinel' allows two reaction shots during Overwatch. **Sentinel is a keystone skill for Covering Fire, triggering reaction fire twice in an engagement. Covering Fire is essential to maximize the chances of consistently getting two opportunities for reaction shots. **Sentinel suffers from Supports' endgame weapon loadout (limited to the various tech-variants of Rifles) being the weakest of all the classes. Other squad members deal significantly more damage with their specialized weaponry, more reliable methods to make multiple shots per turn, and substantial critical hit bonuses. Category:Soldier Classes Builds and Tactics Support Class builds suitable for all difficulties and DLCs: 'Combat Medic Rifleman' Early-game "savior" build (1-2 months): ;Skills :Sprinter, Field Medic, Revive, Dense Smoke, Savior ;Equipment :Medikits, Arc Thrower, Laser Rifle, Skeleton Suit ;Upgrades :Tactical Rigging, Improved Medikit, Improved Arc Thrower, Mimetic Skin, Lead By Example ;Tactics Four Savior Medikits and a Dense Smoke Grenade helps ensure the squad's mission success, increases efficiency of alien captures and meld recovery, and remains versatile for any situation. Even early game, the medic can still be trained and equipped so that it can be effective late game. 'Overwatch Rifleman' Mid-game "sentinel" build (3-4 months): ;Skills :Covering Fire, Smoke and Mirrors, Rifle Suppression, Dense Smoke, Sentinel ;Equipment :Arc Thrower, Ghost Grenades, Light Plasma Rifle, Ghost Armor ;Upgrades :Tactical Rigging, Drone Capture, S.H.I.V. Repair, Mimetic Skin, Lead By Example ;Tactics Ideal for squads consisting of 1-3 Heavies / M.E.C.s for breaking cover, and 2-4 S.H.I.V.s for high-risk scouting and suppression. Three Dense Smoke protects the S.H.I.V.s as they absorb enemy fire. An Arc Thrower keeps the SHIVs and MECs propped up. Rifle Suppression deals with multiple tough enemies in a mission. Ghost Grenades, Sentinel and Covering Fire performs flawlessly against enemy flankers. 'Psi-Soldier Rifleman' Late-game "trainer" build (5+ months): ;Skills :Sprinter, Smoke and Mirrors, Rifle Suppression, Combat Drugs, Savior ;Equipment :Medikits, Combat Stims, Light Plasma Rifle, Psi Armor ;Upgrades :Tactical Rigging, Mimetic Skin, Psi Inspiration, Mind Control, Lead By Example, Star of Terra ;Tactics Specifically designed using Star of Terra medal for promoting Rookies and Squaddies during Scout crash site missions and Covert Operations against EXALT. Combat Drugs and Psi Inspiration counteracts Psi-attacks and panic-induced Intimidate. Two Savior Medikits, Combat Stims, and Suppression are vital against tougher targets, locking them down and letting Rookies engage in target practice. Equipment and Upgrades Equipment *S.C.O.P.E. is extremely useful for Supports of all ranks and builds as they maintain the furthest distance from foes than any other class (except Snipers). *Medikits *Combat Stims *Arc Thrower *Ghost Grenades *Flashbang Grenades Gene Mods Requires XCOM: Enemy Within expansion: *Hyper Reactive Pupils confers +10 Aim after missing a shot, making the second shot of Sentinel deadlier if the first misses. *Mimetic Skin greatly increases the viability of the Rifle Suppression and Alien captures. Multiplayer Support Classes The following is a detailed break-down of the Support Class stats and abilities in multiplayer mode. Note: Each soldier class has a base cost of 800 points, which would need to be added to the values above to determine the point value of a particular soldier. The above point and stat values reflect the default (0 point) equipment load-out. Multiplayer Tactics Support Class soldiers are surprisingly effective in multiplayer. Their Medikits can save a unit and bring it back into battle or heal a soldier to flank an unsuspecting enemy once again. General *Light Plasma Rifle and a scope grants 110 Aim on attack and 90 Aim in Overwatch. *Suppression stacks: reducing the target's Aim by 30% (each) and grants a free reaction shot at no penalty. Imperators :Imperators are rare, deadly, and efficient with the correct loadout: *Sentinel Support can hit the same enemy in Overwatch twice. This occurs when the Support leaves cover then fires, ducks into cover and then when fully crouched-the animation is ready, if the enemy is still moving it will pop back up again and take a second shot, very lethal. *Chitin Plating and/or Mind Shield are effective counters to either Chryssalids or Sectoid Commanders. (Making it cost 4050 points). *Carapace Armor or Skeleton Suit boosts survivability cheaply. Smoke Jumper :Smoke Jumper combined with a Sectoid Commander deals with any big threat strong enough to overwhelm the squad *Add 3 Sectoids, their 4 damage Plasma Pistols are excellent at strafe-fire, Mind Mergeing and suppression afar in a safe place. These Sectoids can reduce a target's Aim to 1%. Notes The trouble with Rifle Suppression At higher difficulties, using "shoot first and kill often" strategy, it is better to hunker down with an alien in sight and only Overwatch after a short retreat. #Aliens often respond to being suppressed by using their special abilities (grenades, poison, psionics, etc) which is usually worse than the alien just taking a potshot. Worse still, none of these actions trigger the reaction fire from the Suppression. And as for preventing a possible flank, Overwatch will also work. The only exception is when there are melee units in the area or if new aliens join the battle that turn, in which case Suppression is the prophylactic move of choice. #Overwatch and Flashbangs effects are superior to suppression. Rifle Suppression can lockdown only one exposed target, but Overwatch and Flashbangs can lockdown multiple enemies AND prevents other foes in cover from moving. Rifle Suppression is effective if melee enemies are present or another hostile pack joins the fight that turn (melee enemies will usually ignore reactive fire, consuming the Overwatch, and new aliens joining would also consume the Overwatch, meaning your exposed enemies are no longer held in Overwatch). #Overwatchers are rarely visible until they are already triggered, which is why an Assault with Lightning Reflexes is head and shoulders above Suppression as a method of dealing with Overwatching aliens; Lightning Reflexes also doesn't cost a soldier's turn or ammo! That said, there is never enough Overwatch-clearing options; if multiple aliens go on Overwatch that is an ideal turn to just park and take a free turn's worth of potshots at everything without fear of retaliation (dropping an explosive and popping smoke ideal but optional). Category:Soldier Classes